I recently purchased a 1999 Glen Ellen Chardonnay to be compared to a Columbia Crest Chardonnay in a wine tasting to feature inexpensive wines. I have been able to find a lot of information and the description for the Columbia Crest, but nothing on the Glen Ellen. Can anyone help me out with anything about their winery, the wine itself, etc.????

Glen Ellen Chardonnay played an important role in current American Wine history. Shortly after Sutter Home became the first winery to popularize white zinfandel, the Glen Ellen wine came along. White zin served the purpose of weaning millions of Americans off of soda pop. Glen Ellen Chardonnay, known as the first "fighting varietel" served the purpose of kicking the palates of these folks up a notch. It first came out at $5, and has not gone up much since then. A second service the Glen Ellen served was to hammer the last nail in the coffin of American "chablis."

American chablis was, and what still remains still is, not from Chablis, and most, if not all, did not see a drop of chardonnay in it. Real Chablis from Northern Burgundy is made 100% from chardonnay in an austere, bone dry, style. American chablis is/was plonk made from California field mixes of various white grapes that contained mostly columbard. It was also nauseatingly sweet. Most folks over 40 remember when people, most female people, ordered wine by the class by saying "chablis." Now these same people, or others like them, say "chardonnay." Glen Ellen is the reason for this.

I was the Beverage Director at world famous Antoine's in New Orleans during the WSWA (Wholesale Wine & Spirits Association) show of 1984. Old man Benziger caused quite a stir with this wine which was

A) from the 1983 vintage, being shown in March of 1984 and was labeled "Proprietor's Reserve", something normally reserved for much older wines at that time.

B) not quite dry with at least as much residual sugar as, say, Charles Krug Chenin Blanc or some popular German table wines of the era

and C) REALLY cheap!

This pissed off a LOT of other producers who did not see at the time that it was, in fact, the pipe in the Pied Piper's mouth just waiting to lead the masses to them (although I have always suspected a young Jess Jackson must have been taking copious notes).

I was in the dining room serving Tom Burgess of Burgess Cellars when this came up as a topic of discussion and Tom was about ready to have a stroke, going on and on about "he can make any damn thing he want's to but they shouldn't let him call it 'Chardonnay', it's too damn sweet!" I asked him if the broad range of then popular late harvest Zinfandels should be banned from being labeled as Zin and he started sputtering about "that's different!".

Shades of the current debates re using the name Barolo for wines that don't taste anything like Barolo....but in the case of Glen Ellen it was not a place name but a varietal name so I had no problem with that.

IK, I didn't say it was bad, just that it shook up the old guard Napa guys in a big way. On your "chablis" note, don't you agree that "Merlot" has become the new "Burgundy", as in a generic word for red wine amongst casual drinkers? I have seen over and over again people telling their friends in the store, "That Rioja (or Salice or Bardolino or whatever) is the best 'Merlot' I've ever had".....